A.M. Roundup: Racial politics and the state Senate

Good morning! It’s chilly with a chance of snow. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City today, with no announced public schedule.Lawyers for George Amedore and Cecilia Tkaczyk return to court this morning to continue examining ballots for the state Senate. (Yesterday, I was mistaken when I wrote that court would be in session Thursday. It was not — lawyers spent the day trying to whittle down their objections based on previous rulings.) Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy is in New York City today for an economic development tour. An anti-fracking documentary will be screened tonight by WAMC. The State Assembly is holding a Medicaid hearing in Manhattan, and on Saturday, the Rev. Al Sharpton is organizing a rally regarding the state Senate. Here are this morning’s headlines…

Racial concerns over the IDC-GOP Senate coalition: “This move passes the legal test but it doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Sen.0elect James Sanders. “People of color could have actually chosen to be one of the three people in the room … Now that opportunity does not exist.” (NYT)

“Governor [Andrew] Cuomo can’t stay out of this,” NAACP New York President Hazel Dukes told The Post. “To see his party decimated in the state Senate is not good for the leader of the party.”//Cuomo responded to the comments by telling WOR-AM radio talk-show host and former Gov. David Paterson, “It’s not my place to get involved in internal legislative affairs.” (NYP)

Mike Hendricks: This is the time of year when people start to look ahead and project what the New Year will bring.//Will the economy perk up? What will happen with Wall Street? What about the political deadlock in Washington? Will we go over the Fiscal Cliff?//Around here we have to wonder if the governor of the state will undercut our efforts to build a world-class technology center.//It has become clear that the Cuomo Administration sees no point in encouraging private-sector growth in the Capital Region. (Business Review)